Assessing the bioelectrical impact on intracellular liquid condensates
Abstract
Living cells have many sub-compartments, which are used to facilitate the regulation of diverse biological reactions and activities in a highly spatiotemporal manner. Besides membrane-bound organelles such as endoplasmic reticulum and lysosome, many intracellular compartments do not have the enclosing membrane, i.e., membrane-less organelle or liquid condensates. These liquid condensates include assemblies in the nucleus, such as nucleolus and nuclear speckles, and cytoplasmic structures such as stress granules and P-bodies. The liquid condensates play several critical roles, including facilitated reaction, sequestration of specific factors, and organization of associated intracellular structures. These droplets can accelerate chemical reactions by bringing the right molecules together or bringing them to a halt by sequestering the necessary reagents. Our team aims to investigate the impact of intracellular calcium concentration and intracellular potential on liquid condensates and their networks. We will use either metal-based microelectrodes or semiconductor-based optoelectronic and thermal devices to yield changes in the bioelectrical environment near single liquid condensates. Our research will involve four types of liquid condensates, i.e., stress granules, nucleolus, processing bodies (P-bodies), and RNA transport granules in rat neurons and Hela cells (a human cancer cell line). We will evaluate the impact of electrical, photoelectrochemical, and photoacoustic impacts over these subcellular components. This study would suggest new approaches toward reprogramming and even creating intracellular membrane-less compartments through the bioelectrical engineering of liquid condensates, which has the potential to fundamentally change our ability to modulate physiological processes for widespread biomedical and biotechnological applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2021
- Source ID
- W911NF2110090
Entities
People
- Bozhi Tian
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Chicago